by Mark Kadzielawa

Alan Parsons is a very creative musical force, and he's done it on two fronts. As an engineer/ producer and later as a musician. Parsons' involvement in The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of The Moon is legendary, and often spoken of. But when he brought Alan Parsons Project into existence, he's made history of his own.
Alan Parsons Project formed in 1975. The two main individuals behind the project were Alan Parsons of course, and Eric Woolfson. The duo was surrounded by countless studio musicians, and the revolving cast of vocalists. All of which contributed to the very original sound of Alan Parsons Project. The band never toured, as they claimed their material was difficult to reproduce live in all its glory. The hits however kept on coming, and the band enjoyed healthy records sales (yes, that's when people bought records.) After ten records, Parsons and Woolfson went their separate ways in 1987. Woolfson recently passed away from kidney cancer.
Alan Parsons Project is now defunct, but Alan Parsons continues to perform to this day. This once studio only unit is now gracing stages all over the world. The material is timeless, and the fan base is very loyal. Parsons' recent release is a live record and a video. It is called Eye 2 Eye-Live in Madrid. The release is very impressive, as the current touring band really does the justice to these tracks. The album and the DVD is packed with hits, the production of course outstanding, and the joy is everlasting.
Alan Parsons talks about the recent release, current plans, and reveals some interesting trivia about some milestone records he's worked on.

Usually when an artist releases a live record, it sums up some sort of chapter in their career. What does sum up for you?
Alan Parsons: Well, there really was only one chapter in the Alan Parsons Project. That was the period from 1976 to 1987. With this concert we had an opportunity to put in one new song. The record is basically a highlight of the entire career. It highlights all the hits we had over the years. It's good to get it out in one place and one time. It's not the first live album we've put out, but it is the first live video we've put out.
The band is certainly playing great live, and the songs are very faithful to their studio versions.
I'm glad to hear you say that. We worked hard to get the sound right. I mean I spend some time remixing the album, and working on it. I'm proud of it. It sounds great.
Do you plan on following it with some new studio material?
Yes, I have a new single coming out soon. It will coincide with the video theory I've been working on for the last two years. The song is called All Our Yesterdays. It was recorded specially for this documentary program I've been working on. It's called The Art And Science of Sound Recording.
Not too long ago you long-time partner from the Alan Parsons Project, Eric Woolfson, passed away. Any memories of Eric you'd like to share?
We were a very good team. We've established a very successful studio outfit. He never saw the potential I saw for playing live. And by the time I started playing live, he was in the other areas of musical business. He was in musical theatre. We kind of drifted apart for the last 16 years, but never the less I feel saddened by his death, and I have strong emotional attachments to the happy times we've spent together.
Which phase of the Alan Parsons Project do you feel the closest to?
Well, some people say that you put our records in any order, and you couldn't tell much difference. We've always tried to create an atmosphere of some sort with each album. Having a concept in mind was always helpful. We always liked to feel that we captured the concept every time we've made an album.
I think the word atmosphere really sums it, when it comes to feel of each APP record.
We felt really good about creating a vibe.
Was there any temptation to take the band on the road in the 70s or 80s, especially when many of the songs were charting?
It was always considered to be a studio band. We have such a complex layers of sound which was extremely difficult to recreate in a live situation. We thought it was almost impossible. During the 90s the keyboard technology improved immensely. A lot of the sounds we thought we could not recreate became possible to create. I started to feel more comfortable about putting a band together for live performances in the mid 90s.
Speaking of those sounds, I was always fascinated by the percussion effect you had on Don't Answer Me and I must admit I have not heard anything like it since. How did you go about accomplishing such sound?
It was just really applying the studio strategy, you just do everything lots of times, and put lots of echo on it. The predominant percussion you hear is a snare drum, and a castanets, seven or eight times each, so they form an echo.
Are you more of a producer or a musician these days?
I've been working on the Art and Science of Sound Recording project a lot, so it kept me in the studio. It's a lot of videotaping and demonstrating a lot of studio equipment. And then the sound mix of the program itself which is been quite complex. So that's been the main thing for me lately, and I've been working with a couple of unknown artists. Particularly a young girl from New York will have some success in the upcoming months. I'm hopeful to have a new studio album out within a year.

When you got into the music business, were you first a producer/engineer or a musician?
I started as a musician, and became interested in the technology of the record. I was lucky to get a job at the Abbey Road Studios in London. So I let go of being a musician, I became a listener at this point. My guitar playing, flute playing, and piano playing kind of fell by the wayside. But then suddenly it all came back in the mid 90s when we started to play live.
This morning I've got an e-mail from some radio station regarding the 35 anniversary of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Would you believe it's been that long since you've worked on that record?
Yes I can because I'm reminded of it almost every day of my life. It will be interesting when it hits 40 years.
You were probably asked just about anything with regards to The Dark Side of the Moon, but is there something you wished you were asked?
(Laughter) Not after 37 years of doing interviews. I think one day, I would like to do my own book or video about that process. Maybe when I actually sit down to write it, or to talk about it the stuff will come out that hadn't been covered before. Have you seen that Ultimate Albums show on Dark Side of The Moon?
Yes, I did.
I felt that program could've been twice as long because there is a lot of good stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor. I really feel they should do a deluxe edition or extended edition of that program.
One rumor which I always wanted to clarify in regards to The Dark Side of the Moon. The speaking parts in the background, is that Paul McCartney?
No, that's an interesting piece of information however. He did audition for the part. It was actually many people who recorded their parts. It was just people responding to questions. They just went into the studio and answered questions given to them on the cards. The main star of the show was actually the janitor of Abbey Road who is the main voice that you keep hearing always really.
And whose idea was it incorporate it into the music?
I think Pink Floyd had used it as the basic idea in the past. I think the majority of it came from Roger (Waters.) It's something I've done too in my music. Pink Floyd were definitely an influence on me in that respect. I had voices on my records too.
Not too long ago your entire catalog was re-mastered. What was it like to go back and listen to all of these recordings? Any new revelations?
A great revelation was listening to the bonus material. The records I knew pretty well. I knew what the master tapes sounded like, but we did have the advantage at the re-mastering stages of making it sound whole lot better than any of the versions released initially. But the bonus material, the demos, outtakes made for a very rewarding listen.

When you started playing live, did you re-discover a lot of those songs on stage?
We started playing live in 1995, and at this point I think we've played just about anything we felt should be played live. We've actually just started playing Turn Of the Friendly Card in the live set. So, that's new, but there is only certain amount of songs that were destined to be played on stage.
Any chance of touring United States any time soon?
We certainly hope so. The times are very hard in America right now, the bigger bucks are unfortunately outside of the U.S. We're more likely to be touring in Europe than we are in America. I'm sure there'll be some shows in the States as well, but to what extend I'm not sure.
You music is often used in sporting events, you must be very proud hearing your songs often on TV.
I think it's fantastic. I certainly didn't expect it when I recorded any of it. It's always nice to know that people are hearing it. A lot of people ask me, do you get paid when your music is used in sporting events, and I really don't know. I think I must do reasonably well on that, but I don't think about it. People may hear the songs and know them really well, but they don't necessary know who plays them because you don't get a credit on the screen. I would say this is true with the vast majority of the people who watch sporting events.

Links:
http://www.alanparsonsmusic.com